When it comes to finding the right pet insurance for your canine friend, there are a few key criteria that you should consider. Whether you choose Pets Best, Trupanion, Lemonade, ASPCA ,Healthy Paws, Embrace or another company, make sure to look at their coverage plans and decide which one offers the best protection for your pup. For example, some companies may provide coverage for accidents and illnesses while some may also offer coverage for preventive care like vaccinations or flea-and-tick treatments. Additionally, you should also check the companyās waiting periods as well as its deductibles and reimbursements.
Now most companies have online portals that are very easy to use and you can submit your claims for reimbursement. I have personally been reimbursed from Embrace within 3 business days! The process for filing a claim is very easy, we have our vet office send our receipt to our email address and then we simply upload the form to our online pet insurance portal. You can choose to have a check mailed to you or a direct deposit into your bank account.Ā We are truly living in the future!
Pet insurance is a great way to protect your dog in case of unexpected health problems or accidents. It can help you save on expensive vet bills, giving you peace of mind when it comes to your pup’s well-being. As an owner of a bully breed i am all too familiar with the high costs of on-going allergy support and ACL surgeries that are very common among our beloved pitties.
In order to be eligible for pet insurance, your dog must typically meet certain criteria. Most plans require that the pet:
ā¢ Is at least 8 weeks old
ā¢ Has not been diagnosed with a pre-existing condition
ā¢ Is up to date on vaccinations and has an adequate flea/tick prevention plan in place
ā¢ Has not had any major medical treatments within the past year
If your dog meets these criteria and is considered āinsurableā by the insurer, then you may be able to get coverage for your pup.
It’s important to understand the different types of pet insurance that are available and how they can help you cover costs in the event of an accident or illness. Be sure to read through all policies carefully before you purchase a plan, so that you know exactly what is covered and what is not. You should also factor in any potential exclusions, such as pre-existing conditions or certain breeds that may be excluded from coverage.
After polling our audience a high percentage of our friends said pet insurance is definitely worth it! One person even let us know they have been reimbursed over 30k within 3 years of having insurance for their dogs!
Pet insurance can help ease the financial burden associated with unexpected vet bills, giving you peace of mind when it comes to your pup’s health care needs. Pricing varies widely based on age, health, breed and coverage you are seeking for your pup.
So we want to hear from you: Is pet insurance worth it? Comment on our post and let us know your thoughts. Have you already got pet insurance in place? What benefits have you seen from having it? We’d love to hear your stories! š¶šø
We personally give pet insurance 4 paws up!!
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I have Has pet insurance for my dog for 11 years. I couldnāt have managed her health without it.
Hi Donna,
We are so happy to hear that pet insurance has helped you take care of your sweet baby!! She is sure lucky to have you!
We purchased pet insurance when we adopted a bulldog. Apparently the hereditary issues that were covered only had a few hundred dollars worth of coverage. I needed paying more in the annual premium than what the plan would pay out, so I cancelled it. I think it would be a great option if you can find the right plan that suits you. Unfortunately this little guy had so many pre existing issues, we have to just pay out of pocket. But he is happy and we will gladly pay to keep him Heath!
I hear this! I only have pet insurance on one pup because the other was older and already had a bunch of existing conditions. He’s my out of pocket senior pittie ha! Same, will gladly pay to keep him healthy š
We have pet insurance for our newest pup and it has been worth every penny. She had a major intestinal surgery prior to our rescuing her and we didn’t want to take any chances. On a related note, we did not have insurance for our previous pup who passed away at 18 months after coming up with a sudden onset (overnight) illness that she fought hard against for six weeks, but ultimately didn’t survive. We did absolutely everything we could and are very fortunate to have not had cost of care be a barrier to getting her the very best treatment- and, we took on around $5-7K in medical bills in doing so. Our plan had been to create a savings account for her care for anything that came up when she got older- and, she never had the opportunity to get older š I now tell everyone I know to get let insurance, if for nothing else- the peace of mind! That’s why we now have it- and it has managed to pay for itself in less than a year.
Hi Kate,
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. That must have been a very difficult and emotional journey. Sending lots of love!
Happy to hear that the pet insurance was worth it for your new pup! The peace of mind really is priceless. <3
I have pet insurance for my rescue. She had cancer almost immediately after I got her so it was going to be tough to find insurance for her. Luckily, I found Bivvy. If a pet does not have symptoms of the recurring condition for 12 months it is covered. This is an amazing benefit for us. She has had a second mast cell tumor that was completely unrelated to the first and Bivvy covered it. Itās been a lifesaver.
Hi Mila,
Thank you for another recommendation our friends can check out!
Sending lots of love to you and your sweet pup! She is lucky to have you! <3
I have pet insurance for my Staffy. Originally started out with Embrace, which was pretty decent. But then after a year I switched to Lemonade insurance. The premium was drastically reduced compared to more well known companies, and the coverages exceeded those other companies. I am extremely pleased and relieved to have pet insurance. You can get the healthy plan to cover their yearly visit, shots and blood work. Or you could take the Accident and Injury plan which covers the unexpected, meds, xrays, treatment, etc. I have both plans and one injury visit can exceed the yearly premium. I submit my receipt and by the next day, reimbursement is in my account. I tell anyone with a young pet to begin some type of coverage. In my opinion, it is well worth it ! If it becomes financially burdensome, then at lease try to take the healthy coverage. Wish you all the best !
Iāve had pet insurance for the last year and it has been a life saver! I got it for both my dogs, a pittie and a malamute, thinking the malamute would need it more as heās a senior. We ended up moving to a more humid place and my pittie developed some issues that resulted in her needing surgery to fix the problem. Before that we were going to the vet and doing rounds of antibiotics once a month, and without the insurance I wouldāve been severely in the hole. Itās my favorite thing in the world and I hype it to anyone who has a pet.
Yes, Pet Insurance is a must. I have 2 labs on Nationwide. Their policy called Whole Pet Plan with Wellness was, IMO, the best int he industry. However, it has been discontinued and NW’s other policies don’t stack up. The Whole Pet Plan with Wellness pays 90% OFF INVOICE (versus. schedule) with a $250 annual deductible and NO ANNUAL LIMITS. This policy covers everything. Sorry it has been discontinued. Happy that we are grandfathered in.
We’ve been SO glad we have insurance. Ours includes some well-care reimbursement that just about pays for itself. It has covered one major incident for this pup as well, so we are glad we bought it, even though we haven’t used it too much yet. Our previous dog has a host of autoimmune issues as well as having to have her knee repaired, so I’d guesstimate we are in about 10,000 on our free shelter pup. She’s doing good, but her monthly medications are over $200 – I won’t ever take that chance again.
I recently started a job that offers a discount through Figo, so we looked into it for our two younger dogs. Our eldest racked up some high bills last summer and wouldn’t qualify for much, but we wanted to have coverage in case either of the others had similar issues. The plans offered by many companies have improved over the last few years, so a lot of things are covered now and I recommend it to anyone with a dog.
I have had Trupanion for YEARS for my dogs. They have paid for multiple 10,000 surgeries ans most things in between. They obviously don’t cover pre-existing conditions and the routine preventive care you should expect to pay as a pet owner. I like knowing they are there for everything else.
Trupanion pairs well with the VCA Care Club if you want preventive care and vaccines covered. That is what we do for our pets.
Itās been peace of mind to have pet insurance for my dog since she was young, however, Iām not sure itās financially worth it anymore. My policy premium went up 50% in 2021, 24% in 2022, and 18% this year. Iāll now be paying over $1400 a year. My dog has a chronic condition in her older age, but so far treatment costs are far below what I pay for insurance.
We signed up for pet insurance the day the adoption was approved and I’m so glad we did as our current pittie has really bad allergies that require a lot of dermatology visits. We learned from our last pittie mix who had the CCL issues. We did eventually get him insurance, but a lot was not covered by the time we did it. We were so grateful he was insured when he got a cancer diagnosis and no decision was made in his care because of money.
I cancelled pet insurance on our last dog after they were bought by Nationwide and suddenly nothing was covered. Ultimately our dog ended up with a liver tumor and needed surgery. We spent $20k out of pocket between scans, surgery and follow up and I would do it again in a heartbeat. That said when we adopted our new dog we signed up for Trupanion. In under 9 months they increased our monthly premium from $183/month to $304. We couldn’t afford it so we changed plans. But I will never not have coverage on a pet.
I have insurance for my dog but not my cats.
My cats are now 17 and started eating a special kidney diet a few months ago. I think this would be a pre-existing condition.
I chose ASPCA insurance for my pibble. Heās 4. I asked around and decided to go with this one because of the optional preventive plan you can add on. It wasnāt much more expensive to add on the basic preventative plan. I get reimbursed annually for his annual exams including poop samples and some vaccines.
Thankfully so far the Only other time I had to use my insurance (besides for his annual) was when he was running in the yard with his friend and tripped on something and got exposed nerve. I took him to the vet and they cleaned up the area and wrapped a bandage on it and it healed up on its own without surgery. I was able to get reimbursed for part of that. I get a reimbursement as a direct deposit and it usually occurs within a few days.
He had repeated ear infections for a while until the vet suggested switching him to a diet that doesnāt include chicken in his food or treats. Since I have switched him he hasnāt had an ear infection and itās been over a year.
I did notice that my premium went up to about $90 recently. But I can afford it and I would much rather have it than not have it. My mom didnāt have insurance for her last dog and he ended up getting cancer. :((( it was so expensive.
I have a few friends that have dogs that donāt have insurance. I keep trying to talk them into getting it to be on the safe side.
I will say it was a little bit overwhelming with all the information out there about Pet Insurance. I will definitely share this thread with my friends in hopes that they will change their mind. Lots of good info here
I am so happy I have pet insurance , I didnāt when I had my previous dogs but finally got smart and got major medical for all three dogs and will never be without ! Super happy with nationwide and very easy quick reimbursement – get your insurance before you have problems – we recently had a dog pass they paid for everything including cremation and ashes – couldn’t be happier !! I never want to have to make a Decision for medical care or costs . Very happy
Pet insurance has definitely been worth it for my pibble baby. 11 vet visits in less than a year (only 3 were well visits), and lotssss of stuff was covered , like when she ate part of her blanket and spent 3 nights in the hospital. I use Fetch. Their premium is low (my pup is only 1) but Iām meh about them as a company. Takes forever to get paid out and they consider a UTI to be preexisting maybe forever now. But Iām so glad I had it because itās saved me thousands already.
We had originally thought about getting insurance but had the realization that it wouldn’t help with any of the things our oldest boy has (also one of our boys sees a cardiologist cause he’s genetically prone to DCM2).
So instead, we made our boys a bank account that we put aside what we would have been paying on insurance(which was over 300 to cover all 3 sadly).
It means when we have an emergency we know it’s funded and don’t have to stress about the insurance.
Which was a godsend when our oldest had emergency surgery for gastric surgery and had also been a huge help for paying for things like our boys neutering plus stomach lining surgeries and even our youngest amputation (all things that insurance would have either not paid out on our would have been limited to assist)
We used Healthy Paws for tomorrow for Pitbulls. Who . passed from cancer. They paid about 85 percent for surgeries, chemo, everything. They also paid highly.
Our current gal Athena has healthy paws and still excellent.
Our older pit bull Tyson who is now 11 1/2, a vet talked me into trupanion when we adopted him 7 yrs ago. I am very much Weston satisfied with their coverage several years ago he had two benign needle biopsies. He resebtlynhas needle biopsies that found spindle cells (not preexisting) that are either precancerous or cancerous. He underwent surgery which cost over $3000. Luckily, and thankfully heās doing fine. Trupanion his denied to pay anything and I am currently appealing with them now. At his advanced age switching to another company wouldnāt work.
Yes, we have it for both of our pitties.
I live in Arizona and we are outdoors often and were concerned about a potential rattlesnake bite. Those injuries can cost thousands of dollars for anti-venom and associated care. That was my main reason for wanting the coverage. (Even with rattlesnake training, dogs can still get bitten by a snake they donāt even see).
We used to have Healthy Paws for several years. Then briefly switched to Fido (through Costco) and then immediately switched to MetLife for Pets. MetLife for Pets is who my local shelter recommends. They have no limitations on pre-existing conditions, hip dysplasia waivers, or wait times.
For two dogs, $250 combined deductible and 100% coverage for both preventative/routine care AND emergency care costs about $140/month.
They donāt require a vet visit for qualification or anything like that.
Itās hard to believe this plan is so good. But they said they really listened to their customers about their pet insurance needs.
I have yet to file any claims or reimbursements but they say they process them right away. You just have to submit your claims within 90 days of the event.
Yes!!! Pet insurance is a must! Our cat developed diabetes and I wouldnāt have been able to afford such a great level of care if we didnāt have insurance in place. They reimbursed me for thousands of dollars. Now we make sure all of our pets are insured.